Presenter: Alayna Neher – Ethnic Studies, Psychology
Faculty Mentor(s): Sharon Luk
Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation
Chinese American adoptees are part of a tradition of non-normative kinship and exist in relationships that transcend racial, gendered, and physical borders. It is hypothesized, given the history of transnational adoption, that Chinese American adoptees seek to navigate identity in predominantly white families and communities, negotiate kinship, and participate in the queering of relationships in biological, adoptive, and/or chosen families. In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 adult adoptees (18 women, 1 man; ages 18-26), all of whom were born in China and adopted to the United States. Results show generally strong connections between adoptees and their immediate family members and other adoptees, although adoptees experience varying quality and strength of relationships with all people in their lives. Relationships with other adoptees and non-adopted Asian Americans are less frequent when adoptees are raised in predominantly white communities. Relationships between adoptees are particularly important for humanizing adoptee experiences, providing space for nuance and fluidity in identity, and coalition-building. Adoptee relationships and identity form a constellation of kinships and offer a new understanding Asian American identity.